<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>A Moment Before Maddie &amp; Chimney's Wedding by SkylarJames17</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26430604">A Moment Before Maddie &amp; Chimney's Wedding</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkylarJames17/pseuds/SkylarJames17'>SkylarJames17</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9-1-1 (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Crying, F/M, Friendship, Heart-to-Heart, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Weddings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 03:47:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,542</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26430604</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkylarJames17/pseuds/SkylarJames17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>As Chimney is tying his tie, getting ready to marry Maddie, his soon-to-be brother-in-law comes in hoping to talk.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Evan "Buck" Buckley &amp; Howie "Chimney" Han, Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>41</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Moment Before Maddie &amp; Chimney's Wedding</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hey, Chim, you have a minute?”</p>
<p>Chimney turns from where he’s adjusting his bowtie, making sure it’s straight, to see Buck leaning against the doorframe, his tie undone, shirt half unbuttoned, shoes nowhere in sight.</p>
<p>“Sure, but I’m not sure you do. Where are all your clothes? Do you need help with your tie?”</p>
<p>“I have plenty of time,” Buck protests. “And I can tie my own tie now.”</p>
<p>Chimney raises an eyebrow.</p>
<p>“Okay, fine, I can’t. But Bobby said he’d do it for me later.”</p>
<p>Chim smiles. “Aw. Father-son bonding.”</p>
<p>Buck rolls his eyes, but there’s a blush creeping onto his cheeks, giving away how much Bobby’s paternal affection means to him.</p>
<p>Chimney adjusts his bowtie one last time and fully turns. Only then does he notice that Buck’s hands are shaking, his eyes are darting around the room, and his breathing is a bit too shallow to go unnoticed. “Hey, you okay?”</p>
<p>Buck shrugs. “Why is it that I’m more scared for Maddie’s wedding than she is?”</p>
<p>Chimney laughs. “Because you’re in charge of the whole thing, and if anything goes wrong there’ll only be you to blame?” he jokes, expecting Buck to frown and fight back.</p>
<p>Instead of that, though, Buck’s face turns a shade paler. “I think I need to sit down,” he mutters breathlessly, wobbling over to collapse into an empty chair and putting his head in his hands.</p>
<p>“Woah, Buckaroo, what’s up?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know, but I kinda feel like I’m gonna puke. And that would be bad because this is a rental. Oh my god, what if I--”</p>
<p>“Hey, hey, Buck, it’s all good,” Chimney interrupts before Buck actually vomits. “Nobody is more prepared for this than you. Everything’s going to be great. Just breathe, man.”</p>
<p>Buck nods shakily, drawing in a deep breath. After a few, he sighs, body finally relaxing.</p>
<p>“Sorry,” he says when he feels like he can speak again. “You probably weren’t anticipating having to calm <em>me</em> down on <em>your</em> wedding day.”</p>
<p>“Don’t worry about it,” Chimney replies. “Was there something else you wanted to talk about?”</p>
<p>Buck nods. “Yeah, right, that. Jeez. I had something to say. But now I don’t know where to start.”</p>
<p>“Well yeah, it’s hard to know where information disappears to in that head of yours,” Chim teases. “My guess is out your left ear, but Hen thinks they’re still in there somewhere.”</p>
<p>“Chim.”</p>
<p>Buck’s serious tone shakes Chimney out of the joking mindset. “Okay, okay. Jokes aside. Take your time.”</p>
<p>Out of nowhere, tears flood into Buck’s eyes, and there’s no stopping them. “Fuck,” he says, swiping at his cheeks in a futile attempt to pretend they’re not there.</p>
<p>Chimney reaches out and puts a silent hand on Buck’s shoulder in support. He can only imagine what it would be like to give your sister away to another man, especially after all they’d both been through.</p>
<p>Finally, Buck looks up, eyes wet but determined. “Most of the men in Maddie’s life have failed her.”</p>
<p>Chimney nods, keeping his hand on Buck’s shoulder. </p>
<p>“Maddie married Doug when I was 15. I wish I could say I knew he was a piece of shit the whole time, but I didn’t. I didn’t like him, but that was because he was taking Maddie from me. But if you’d told me when I was 15 that Doug would--that he would hurt her like that, I don’t think I would have believed you. My dad never touched Maddie. He was absent, yes, and I’m sure he said things that I never knew about as a kid. But I grew up thinking Maddie was the strongest person in the world. Still do, really, but then I thought she was invincible. Maybe that’s why I missed the signs, even though I knew as well as anyone what an abuser looked like. Or maybe I was just so wrapped up in my own shit that I thought everyone was better than my dad. I was so stupid. I <em>failed</em> her, Chim.”</p>
<p>“Hey, no, that’s not your fault at all. You were just a kid. You couldn’t have--”</p>
<p>“I was a kid that knew that nobody was looking out for her. Our whole lives, Maddie was looking out for <em>me</em>. But nobody was looking out for her. When she started dating Doug, I thought she was just coming around less because she didn’t want me anymore. I was so blind, Chim. I was so selfish. I was only looking out for myself. Nobody was there for her. I let her down.”</p>
<p>“Buck--”</p>
<p>“Let me finish,” Buck says quickly. “When Maddie came back, I thought I’d never trust a man with her ever again. Every man in her life failed her. Dad. Doug. <em>Me</em>.”</p>
<p>Chimney starts moving his hand up and down Buck’s arm. “You and I both know that the only one who blames you for that is you, buddy.”</p>
<p>Buck’s openly crying now, but keeps talking, hardly acknowledging what Chimney said. “I never thought I’d trust another man with my sister. Not after all of them caused her pain. But then she fell in love with you.”</p>
<p>Chimney sniffs. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t crying, too, now. “I’ll never hurt her, Evan. I swear on my life. I love her so much.”</p>
<p>“I <em>know</em> you won’t,” Buck sobs, completely unable to control the tears anymore. He reaches blindly for Chimney’s hand. When he finds it, he holds on tight and lifts his eyes to find his soon-to-be brother-in-law’s through blurred vision. “I didn’t think I’d ever believe anyone who told me that. Thank you so <em>much</em>, Chim. If it weren’t for you, I’d never see her in another man’s arms and still be able to sleep at night. I didn’t think I’d ever like anyone she chose. I didn’t think I could--I didn’t think I could survive losing her again. But it’s okay. It’s okay because it’s <em>you</em>.” </p>
<p>Suddenly they’re hugging, sobbing into each other’s shoulders, messing up the rental tuxedos. </p>
<p>“Please don’t hurt her, Chim,” Buck sobs. “<em>Please don’t hurt her</em>.”</p>
<p>“I’d never. I’d never. I promise. Everything’s going to be okay,” Chimney reassures. “I’d die before I let anything happen to her.”</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Buck whimpers. “Thank you, thank you, thank you…”</p>
<p>“Shhh,” Chimney whispers. “Thank <em>you</em>. It can’t be easy to walk your sister down the aisle. Not after everything.”</p>
<p>“I’m not ready.”</p>
<p>“Shhh, I know. It’s going to be okay. I promise you.”</p>
<p>“Please don’t take her away from me.”</p>
<p>“I won’t. She’s still your sister, Buck. You’re still her little brother.”</p>
<p>“I need her, Chim. I can’t let her be hurt again. I can’t let her get taken away from me.”</p>
<p>“You’re not going to lose her, Buck. You’ve both been through so much. I’d be doing both of you a disservice if I got between you. But it’s not just you two anymore, okay? You can set some of that weight down. She has both of us looking out for her, now. I promise I will look out for her for the rest of my life. It’s not all on you. Let me bear that weight now. Okay?”</p>
<p>Buck nods. “Okay,” he breathes.</p>
<p>“And what happened with Doug was not your fault. Okay?”</p>
<p>Buck hesitates.</p>
<p>“Buck. Look at me.”</p>
<p>Slowly, he pulls away, looking Chimney in the eye with a glassy gaze.</p>
<p>“You were <em>fifteen</em>. You are not to blame for what Doug did. And you are not to blame for what your father did either. Do you understand?”</p>
<p>Buck nods, but Chimney can tell it’s just to appease him.</p>
<p>“Say it.”</p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p>“Say that it wasn’t your fault.”</p>
<p>“Chim--”</p>
<p>“Evan.”</p>
<p>Buck closes his eyes. “It wasn’t my fault?” he says, forming the statement into a question.</p>
<p>“One day you’ll believe that, okay? But for now, let me take care of her. You just take care of yourself. And please know that I’m always here for <em>you</em>, too.”</p>
<p>Buck’s lips form into a small smile. “Maddie’s lucky to have you, brother. Almost as lucky as you are to have her.”</p>
<p>“Don’t I know it.” Chim laughs, then looks at his little brother-in-law. “Everything’s going to be okay, Buckley.”</p>
<p>Buck nods. “Thanks, Chim.”</p>
<p>“Now go clean yourself up. Your suit is rumpled, and your pops needs to tie your tie.”</p>
<p>Buck scoffs. “Like you look any better, Mr. Crooked Bowtie. Maybe you need Bobby too.” He stands up, ready to go back across the hall.</p>
<p>Chimney shakes his head. “If my tie is crooked, Maddie will blame you.”</p>
<p>“Asshole.”</p>
<p>“You know it’s true!”</p>
<p>“That’s it. I’m sending Bobby in here!”</p>
<p>“Where are you sending me?”</p>
<p>Both Buck and Chim jump out of their skin. </p>
<p>“Bobby!” Buck exclaims sheepishly. “How long have you been there?”</p>
<p>Bobby smirks from the doorway. “Long enough to know where your red eyes came from.”</p>
<p>Chimney frowns at Buck. “This is all your fault, Buckley. You made me cry before my wedding.”</p>
<p>“Hey, you’re the one marrying my sister! I’m supposed to make you cry! You need to fear me!”</p>
<p>Bobby laughs. “Buck, you’re about as frightening as a three-legged puppy. And Chim, just humor him, okay? Now both of you, come here. I need to fix your ties.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hope you enjoyed. Please comment!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>